“We expect to donate $100,000 to charity this year,” Bob Fuller said to me this past weekend at the 22nd Annual Keels & Wheels concours. In its 22 years, Keels & Wheels has raised over $1.6m for various children’s charities, the foremost being Boys and Girls Harbor. According to Glen […]
Author: Keith Martin
Keith’s Blog: Why I’m Not Buying a Lancia
I’ve owned well over 500 cars during the past 40 years. If I really got serious about counting them, I might reach 1,000. They have ranged from ’62 Nova Wagons to Plymouth Superbirds to Ferrari 330 Americas to BMW Isettas. There wasn’t a car that I couldn’t talk myself into. […]
A Father’s Day Note
The 1960 Bugeye I bought for my 10-year-old son Bradley 18 months ago is finally home in the SCM garage. When I bought this Bugeye, I accomplished two goals with one car. First, I was paying a tribute to my own beginnings in sports cars. My first car was a […]
Keith’s Blog: It’s The Little Stuff That Makes You Crazy — Fettling Two Alfas
I made two round trips to Jefferson, Oregon last week. That’s where “Hooligan Racing,” Bill Gillham’s restoration shop, is located — 63 miles south of Portland. I’ve been taking Alfas to Gillham for over 30 years, my first being the ex-Ivan Zaremba 1967 Duetto owned by my college friend Arthur Levy. When Arthur was deciding on […]
Keith’s Blog: Buy – Learn – Repent – Move on
I’ve bought and sold a lot of cars over the years. They tended to come in bunches. There was an MG period, then a Porsche period, then a Rover period and so on. Some more-disciplined collectors have a linear approach. For example, having one car of each year of Corvette […]
Keith’s Blog: The La Jolla Concours d’Elegance Raises the Bar
If location, location, location is the mantra for real estate, it’s the location, the cars and the people for car shows. Seven years ago, when I was emcee at my first La Jolla concours, the show was called the La Jolla Motorcar Classic. It was a good event at that […]
Keith’s Blog: Happy 59th Birthday to the Sprint!
On April 3, 1958 my Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Veloce rolled off the assembly line. Six days later it was sold to a dealer in Switzerland. Its history is lost from then until about 30 years ago when it was found sitting, not running and with the nose punched in, […]
Keith’s Blog: 40 Under 40 Nominations Closing Soon
Take a moment right now and nominate people you know who are enthusiastic about old cars — and under 40 years of age. Nominations close April 15, and we will feature the results in SCM’s October issue. Nominees can be involved in any aspect of the old car world — […]
Keith’s Blog: Join The SCM Dash Across America in a Bradley GT!
SCM is inviting you on our latest madcap adventure. As we announced in the April issue of SCM, we’ve purchased a most inconsequential old car — a Bradley GT. This mostly forgotten VW-based kit car was most notable for its gullwing doors. However, it is unlikely to be confused with […]
Join SCM’s Bonkers Miami-to-Monterey Drive
We’ve come up with the ultimate SCM road trip. We’re combining perhaps the most insignificant collector car with the longest possible trip. Here’s your chance to become a part of it. We’ve acquired a 1974 Bradley GT. My 9-year-old son is named Bradley; how could I resist? Think how much […]